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The Queen's Handmaiden
Jennifer Ashley
ISBN-10: 042517329
ISBN-13: 978-0425217320
Berkley, October 2007, 323 pp
Historical Fiction – England, 1533
Trade Paperback
$14.00 (US) $16.00 (CDN)
Reviewed by Maria
April 2008
In an age that young Elizabeth strives to be queen, the same ambition that could put her on the throne could also very well kill her. Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and his ill-fated bride Anne Boleyn, watches the deterioration of each successor to the throne, buying her time in exile and at court. Always scheming and forever calculating, the young would be queen learns to master the most dangerous game of her life.
Eloise Rousell is Elizabeth's seamstress. Having close contact with the young woman, Eloise knows first hand the treachery and deceit that Elizabeth has become master to. Like her father before her, Elizabeth will have no one stand in the way of her throne. Along with her Aunt Kat, Elizabeth's governess since having been tossed aside by her father, Eloise's top priority is to serve as a sounding board and conscience. No one else in England knows the fire–tempered redhead as well as they do.
Eloise quietly sews, taking in Elizabeth's schemes and treachery. When
Elizabeth is sent to exile by her cousin the queen, Eloise goes with her,
hoping to aide the queen and save herself as well. Elizabeth finds herself
a pawn in the ruthless games of men in power, growing more and more bitter
with time. She is forced to remain compliant but dreams of righting the
people of England, saving them from Queen Mary's Catholic reform and burning.
Elizabeth vows to end the senseless killings and restore her Protestant
faith to the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Eloise learns to live with the future monarch's fierce temper
and drive. Buying her time with Elizabeth, hiding her own dangerous secret,
Eloise knows only too well that her life and freedom is at stake as well.
Life can only be restored if Elizabeth becomes queen without the true love
of her life - Robert Dudley, a task that she and Aunt Kat are set to achieve.
From Elizabeth's infancy and childhood to seeing Queen Mary's violent reign,
this story of the most famous Tudor of all is expertly told. Jennifer Ashley
gives vivid accounts of Elizabeth's loyalty to those who love her, as well
as the love she forgoes to be queen.
Jennifer Ashley is the bestselling author of historical romance, and an
award-winning mini series written under the name Ashley Gardner. She has
a master's degree in Middle Age and Renaissance England literature and lives
in the southwestern United States.